All bark and a worse bite
by FiveMetersOfPrussia
Summary: Someone had to do a Grimm fairytale cross over.


Once upon a time...

Summary: In which Jack is a twit and Ralph has to go and save his ass, as per usual.

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Flies or beauty and the beast, Grimm fairy tale or otherwise.

A/N: Look, I made a thing.

Warnings: **Angst.**

Pairing(s): Roger/Ralph, as per usual. May throw some others in later.

* * *

To many people, Jack was a tall, lovely and charming boy, with distinguished curls and startling blue eyes. He was the sort of person that everyone was oh so easily enamored with, though why, Ralph had no idea. The truth was, as only Ralph knew, that Jack was a truly _horrid_ boy. In the long summer months, whilst Mr. and Mrs. Merridew went off to the farther reaches of the world to go and do exploring, Jack - light of their lives, their _precious_ baby boy - was left in the care of the Kirkland's, siblings to his father and well known within the social hierarchy that was the English upper crust. Naturally, Jack wanted nothing to do with this sudden abandonment and saw fit to let his parents - and Ralph - know just exactly how displeased he was with this turn of events. In the first few weeks, there had been an awful lot of whining, of which Ralph had no means to escape, since Jack would find him, one way or another. It was infinitely easier to just hold still and listen, in hopes that Jack would eventually bore himself with his chatter and leave.

This was a short lived mercy, Ralph soon found out.

As the weeks drug on and Mummy dearest and Father failed to return to save Jack from his boredom, he began to formulate other means with which to entertain himself, which meant scaring poor Ralph half to death with every available opportunity that presented itself. By the weeks end, Ralph had taken to sleeping in the attics, since it was the one place Jack couldn't find him. Of course, that had been short lived as well, but with the way things had gone up until this point, he'd hardly expected it to last.

* * *

Ralph hissed through his teeth as he dabbed antiseptic to a rather nasty gash on his side, trembling as he set aside the cotton swab, carefully picking up the gauze instead. It had been a week since Jack had pulled him from the tree in the back yard, and already it looked much better... Or so he told himself. His parents had been all a fluster, demanding to know why he was in the tree in the _first_ place, tittering over the blood as it soaked his shirt and trousers. He'd shooed them away with surprising ease, however, which had only caused his heart to sink to the pit of his stomach, for which he fully ignored them as they worried over Jack, who played the part of concern so easily it sickened him.

With violently shaking hands, Ralph managed to somehow get the gauze on, and unrolled the medical tape slowly, taping down the gauze gently as he patched up his side. He very blatantly ignored all of the other large bruises that discolored his skin, and only vaguely glanced at the scrapes, as if in passing. He'd long since learned to ignore them, since they never seemed to fade away... Jack made sure of it. Ralph was silent as the grave as he put away the medical supplies, straightening out his clothing carefully as he glanced at the mirror. Staring back was someone that he never seemed to be able to recognize anymore; to him, his reflection seemed so thin and tired, deadened by the strains of putting up with Jack and in denial of any negligence from the rest of his family. He sighed and turned away, made purposeful as the phone began to ring.

Ralph counted three rings before he picked it up, not even getting the chance to offer a greeting as Jack's voice hissed at him urgently. "Ralph?" he half asked, half demanded. Ralph only sighed, more than a little tempted to just hang up the phone without answer. Whatever mess Jack had gotten himself into _this_ time, Ralph sincerely wanted nothing to do with it, whatsoever. "Ralph." Jack snapped. "I know you're there, you twit."

"What've you done this time, Jack?" Ralph sighed, leaning against the wall heavily.

"_Nothing._ I'm being held against my will in some demented old house." At this, Ralph rolled his eyes, and frowned. At some point, when he wasn't tormenting Ralph, Jack had managed to make friends, though why anyone would _want_ to be friends with Jack, Ralph would never know. "I see." was all that he said, sounding a bit put upon. "And why are you being held there? Whose house did you break into, anyway?"

"I did _not_ break into it, Ralph." Jack snapped. "It's _ abandoned_."

"Just because it's abandoned doesn't mean you can go waltzing in whenever you like, Jack." Ralph reasoned, to which Jack scoffed.

"Shut up, Ralph." Jack offered, continuing. "But I can't get out, and the doors are locked from the outside." Ralph sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose as he shook his head. "Why not have one of your _friends_ open it, then?" Ralph asked, trying for all the world not to sound sarcastic. It failed, however, and Jack was not amused in the least. "Why would I have phoned _you_ if they were here, Ralph?" he deadpanned.

He had a point, Ralph admitted silently, scowling.

"And if I choose to leave you there to rot?" Ralph asked, already knowing that he would eventually go to Jack's rescue, if only to prevent the inevitable missing person's case. On the other end of the line, however, Jack froze stiff. He had known that this was entirely possible, as Ralph truly had no reason whatsoever to come to his aid, and it was a fool's hope, even to begin with. He had simply chose to bank on the fact that Ralph had a crippling moral compass that would force him to do it anyway. For a very long time, the line was quiet and Ralph had nearly hung up the phone to go and pull on his jacket when Jack sighed heavily. "_Please?_"

* * *

Ralph had been expecting to have to merely go and open the door for his idiot cousin, get berated for taking so long, and continue on as if this had never happened. Maybe his recent heroics would have granted him some form of mercy and the last few weeks would be at least _bearable _until Mr. and Mrs. Merridew returned to take their darling little monster home. Maybe Ralph could even heal up a bit, in time to not have to explain why he'd developed so many nasty looking wounds over the summer. This was far from what happened, however.

Upon entering, Ralph had instantly been faced with the task of hunting for Jack through the expansive and eerie house, more than a little unnerved by it. All across the floor were shattered bits of furniture, torn pictures, broken vases, thick, choking layers of dust and deep gashes, as if something heavy had been drug across the beautifully decorated tiles. Eerie as this was, however, Ralph continued on bravely, hoping that Jack would be somewhere close by. He searched several rooms, all appearing to be in the same sort of disarray, until he finally found Jack, tied down to an old, beautifully crafted and ornate looking chair, fast asleep by the looks of it. "So much for worrying." Ralph muttered, rolling his eyes. Walking over to Jack, he shook him awake, startling as the redhead screeched at him angrily, cursing for several moments as he struggled before looking over at Ralph, scowling grouchily. "Finally decided to show up, have we?" he hissed, scowl deepening as Ralph stood and rolled his eyes.

"Good to see that you haven't changed any." Ralph muttered, folding his arms across his chest. Unbeknownst to him, a pair of large, glowing green eyes watched them from the distance, a low growl rumbling softly, inaudibly in the distance. "Well, don't just stand there, you twit, untie me!" Jack snapped, shaking his bound hands for added emphasis. When Ralph made no move to do so, Jack sighed heavily and rolled his eyes, huffing as he stared up at the ceiling for a moment. "Alright," he began. "I'll bite; what is it that you want, Ralph?" he huffed, turning back to him. The blonde stared at him incredulously for a moment, but shook his head, sighing. "I want you to leave me alone, Jack. No more scaring me, no more beatings, just pretend I'm not there." he said, staring him down. Jack scoffed, as Ralph had suspected he would, and rolled his eyes. "It's hardly my fault that you're so weak, Ralph. Besides, you've gotten better at hiding, so you've got your peace." he said, unfazed by the harsh glare Ralph shot him.

"You must be keen on staying here, then." Ralph snapped, turning to walk away. If anything, Jack's absence would mean one less headache for him. He could hear the creaking of the chair as Jack shifted, followed quickly by an irritated, "Oh, alright, I'll leave you alone." Hesitantly, Ralph paused in his exit, looking over his shoulder at Jack, highly skeptical. "After we get out of here, you'll be invisible." Jack continued, looking oddly serious for once. Sighing, Ralph walked back over to him, wondering what in God's name had gotten into his head. "So, if you're here by your lonesome, tied up, how did you phone me?" he asked after a moment, a horrifying feeling causing his stomach to sink to his knees. It would have been impossible for Jack to do it by himself, and there was obviously no one else here... At least not one of Jack's _friends_ at any rate. Before Jack could answer, or even stand up, there was a booming slam of a door, followed by footsteps which echoed in the empty expanse of the room, startling the both of them.

"I don't take kindly to trespassers." offered a cold voice, belonging to a tall figure with lengthy, jet black curls, pallid skin and violently sharp green eyes which seemed to glow in the dull light of the room. Ralph, who had knelt behind the chair to untie Jack, hid behind it a little, unnerved by the intensity of the startling stranger's stare as his gaze bore holes into the two of them. Jack, the braver - and more stupid - of the two stood and, in a tone of indignation, snapped, "Well, it wasn't as if I chose to stick around! You were the one that tied me to the chair." Looking between his cousin and the stranger, Ralph frowned, scowling a little when his gaze fell upon Jack. "Just because it's abandoned, it doesn't mean you can waltz in whenever you please, you _jackass!"_ Ralph snapped, standing up to glare at Jack. If they were killed for Jack's stupidity, Ralph would find a way to bring Jack back just to haunt him for the rest of his (un)natural life.

Jack scowled at Ralph, ignoring tall, dark and terrifying for a moment. "How was I supposed to know some nutter would show up and try and keep me here?" he snapped. "You should pay more attention to your companion," the stranger said, voice monotone. "He's much brighter than you are." Jack couldn't have glared harder if he tried, his face turning a bright red as he sputtered, hard pressed to come up with a response. Ralph, content with this development, turned back to the tall figure. "I'm very sorry to have trespassed, if I'd known that this was where he'd been headed I'd have tried to tell him differently... I don't think it would have done much good, though." Ralph began, sighing. "If anything was damaged, we can do our best to have it fixed, or replace it," he continued, unnerved by the intense stare. There was no change in his expression, no reaction or sign of life... "But we've got to be getting home soon-" he explained, only to be cut off by a sharp laugh.

Ralph was startled, to say the least, for the odd, wolfish grin that adorned the stranger's features, while Jack merely avoided Ralph's gaze. "Oh, no, no," the stranger hummed, shaking his head. "You're friend here seems to have forgotten to fill you in on the nature of the situation before your arrival." he said, expression smoothing out again, becoming placid. Looking over to Jack, Ralph felt his stomach sink as his heart clenched, a sudden wave of fear rolling over him. What had Jack done? What had he gotten him into? "Jack?" Ralph asked, voice hoarse. Jack didn't look at him, his shoes suddenly the most interesting thing in the world as the tension thickened. "Jack!" Ralph snapped, glaring at him. "What have you done?!" he barked, heart hammering in his chest. Startling, Jack looked up, surprised that Ralph even had the capacity _to_ yell. "W-wel... One of us has to stay, you see-" he began, getting caught off by Ralph, who was instantly livid. "And what? You want me to take your place?!" he snapped, shaking his head. "You _idiot!_ Why the bloody hell didn't you tell me?" he hissed. Jack, ever one to try and be difficult, huffed. "You wouldn't have come." he said matter-of-factly. Ralph stared at him incredulously before shutting his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. "I would have phoned the police, you pillock." Ralph ground out, shooting Jack a razor sharp glare.

The redhead had nothing to say to that, instead looking back at his shoes. The police would have _certainly_ been more lucrative in an escape attempt than Ralph, and neither of them would be stuck here. Chilling laughter filled the room again and they both looked back at the tall stranger, unsure of how to proceed. "Well, seeing as that wasn't what went on, which shall it be?" he asked, grinning wolfishly. "I can't." Jack said adamantly, shaking his head. "And what the bloody hell makes you think I can?" Ralph snapped, shooting Jack a look. "You'll hardly be missed," Jack began bluntly, ignoring the look of indignation that crossed Ralph's features. "I spend more time with your parents than you do, and I actually _have _friends. Here and back at home." he continued, folding his arms. "Besides, my parents would turn over the entire city if I went missing, whereas they don't even remember your name." he said, lying just a little. They usually just got Ralph's age mixed up, but he didn't need to know that.

The stranger, watching as the blond's expression fell, chipped in with a kinder tone, feeling sort of sorry for the poor kid. "Well, regardless of whether any of that is even remotely true, his very presence is grating," he said, earning a glower from Jack. "I imagine you would make for much more enjoyable company." he shrugged, not even acknowledging Jack's glare. Ralph didn't know what to say to that, really... Not looking at Jack, he thought over everything that had happened, and how he had a point. Jack did get on better with his parents than he did... Would they even notice that he was gone? Even if they didn't, he really didn't have friends that would notice his absence. Looking away from the both of them, he shrugged, nodding. "Fine." he muttered, feeling much colder all of a sudden. Even his cousin didn't care what happened to him, not that he'd expected Jack to care. For all he knew, he'd never see Jack again, and it didn't make a lick of difference to him so long as it was Ralph's neck on the line instead of his own. Nodding, the stranger crossed the room to Ralph, taking him by the arm to lead him away, glaring harshly at Jack. "Get out." he hissed viciously, leading the blond away. Jack frowned as he watched them, startling as the door slammed, left there to stand in the screaming silence of the room, the knowledge of what he'd just done hanging heavy in the air. "I'm sorry..." he mumbled, staring at the closed door for a moment before fleeing the house, and overwhelming sense of relief washing over him.

_A/N: That's all for now! Leave me a review and lemmie know what you think!_


End file.
